Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom (19), from Sweden, tries to shoot with New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (30), from Sweden, in the goal, and defenseman Dan Girardi (5) in the third period, of Game 7 first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff hockey series, Monday, May 13, 2013 in Washington. The Rangers won 5-0. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (The Associated Press)

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Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask (40) looks the wrong way for the rebound against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the third period in Game 7 of their NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Boston, Monday, May 13, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) (The Associated Press)

BOSTON – The Boston Bruins are about to face one of the NHL's top goalies.

They'll open their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the New York Rangers on Thursday night when they'll try to get the puck past Henrik Lundqvist. But first they must get the puck to the net and that could be a challenge against one of the league's leading shot-blocking teams.

The Bruins struggled for most of the last three games in their opening series against the Toronto Maple Leafs before scoring four goals in the last 17 minutes to win Game 7 in overtime 5-4.

The Rangers came back from a 3-2 series deficit to beat the Washington Capitals as Lundqvist posted shutouts in the last two games.